From the Head’s Study
The elements were certainly against us last week as storm Ciaran took hold of the nation. Fortunately, we have a robust and sturdy school meaning we endured little damage apart from a fallen tree in the orchard. We were saddened to have cancelled our PFA Bonfire Party for safety reasons but we are very much looking forward to our quiz night in the sports hall on Friday.
We held two very successful Open Day events last week, welcoming forty new families to tour the grounds and meet our wonderful children and staff. One family wrote to us to say they were blown away with the warm and welcoming environment we offer. Another spoke highly of our children and how confident, articulate and polite they were. It was a real team effort and we thank everyone for their support in showcasing what we have to offer. We are excited to watch our family grow in the coming months.
In this morning’s assembly, we took the opportunity to reflect on the significance of Armistice Day and the sacrifice that was made by countless people to protect our freedom and the future of our country. Our formal events this week will include the opportunity for staff and children to come together during our services running on Friday, details of which are outlined below. On Saturday, we will invite the children to observe two minutes’ silence at one of our war memorials.
Finally, we are now in receipt of the photographs for our website following the photoshoot we held some weeks ago. We are absolutely delighted with the quality of shots and feel they strongly represent what we stand for as a school. We cannot wait to share our newly relaunched website with you.
We hope you have a fantastic week ahead.
Mrs Jo Parpworth
School Last Week
Open Day Events
Thank you very much to our school community for supporting our Open Day events last week. The teachers worked extremely hard to put on a range of activities from erupting volcanoes in science, to explosive sports and firework related art activities. There was a real buzz in the Latin and drama departments too. A big thanks must go to Mr Kearnes and Year 8 for being good sports and dressing up in historical costumes. In ICT we made our own fireworks by programming them in Python. The children enjoyed debugging their programs, altering the sizes and adding their own colours and messages. Below is an example of what they created.
It was wonderful to welcome so many prospective families to our school, many of which had enquired on the back of your recommendations. We are very grateful to Mrs Spencer who baked some delicious WHD branded cupcakes for our visitors to take home. We’d also like to thank the PFA for their attendance and support with refreshments. We look forward to welcoming lots of new starters to our family.
School This Week
Team Photos
Sports team photos are being taken on Tuesday morning. Please ensure that children have their full (clean!) sports kit in school for the photos. Details for ordering the photos will be emailed to parents when they are ready.
ISEB Common Pre-Test – Thursday 9th and Friday 10th November
Some of our Year 6 pupils will sit these tests in English, Maths, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning (taking place in our ICT suite at WHD) that form part of the entry requirements into a range of Senior Independent Schools. We wish them all well.
Remembrance Assembly (Yrs R – 3) & Parents – Friday 10th November
We warmly welcome you to join us at 9am on Friday where we will hold a Remembrance assembly. Reverend Matt Hodder from St Peters Church will be in attendance.
Remembrance Service (Yr 4 – 8) & Parents – Friday 10th November
We very much look forward to inviting all parents to our Remembrance Chapel Service in the Ridgeway Chapel here at WHD on Friday 11th November, when we will have the opportunity to pause, reflect and consider the sacrifices that people made and continue to make to protect our freedom. We thank Reverend Matt Hodder for his contribution to the service.
Parent/Teacher Quiz Night
Please join us on Friday 10th November for an adult quiz night in the Sports Hall. It is set to be a night of fun, laughter and good company. The ticket entry of £10 includes 2 bottles of wine per table. Please bring your own additional snacks and drinks. Ms Mohammed has kindly created a quiz for everyone to enjoy, which will be delivered by Mrs Parpworth who will be wearing her sparkliest of jackets. To enter please email: friendsofwhd@gmail.com.
Future Events
Tombola items
Tombola items needed for Childrens’ Christmas Fair – any donations for this will be gratefully received throughout November. They can be left with the school office/given to form teachers. Items in the past have included toys, craft activities, games, books, stationery, soft toys, chocolate and sweets or anything that you can think of that the children might like to win!
Year 6 Hindleap Residential – Monday 13th November to Friday 17th November
Year 6 are looking forward to a week of activity and outdoor fun at Hindleap Warren Residential Centre in East Sussex. With over 300 acres of forest to explore, climb and roam, we have no doubts that the children will have a trip of a lifetime.
Anti Bullying week – Monday 13th November to Friday 17th November
Join us for Anti-Bullying week 2023, which will take place from Monday 13th November – Friday 17th November and will kick off with Odd socks day on Monday 13th. Children can wear odd socks of their choice on Monday 13th to symbolise our zero tolerance approach to bullying. Below is a Just Giving page if you would like to donate directly.
Anti-Bullying Alliance – JustGiving
Class Assemblies Dates
7th November – Year 4
17th November – Year 1 and 3
21st November – Year 5
1st December – Year 2
Children in Need – 17th November
We will be supporting this very important charity on Friday 17th November. A voluntary donation will be loaded onto School Money. Children can come dressed in non-school uniform or spotty fancy dress.
Exeat – Friday 17th November
School will finish at 3.30pm on Friday 17th November. There will be no after school club or clubs on this day.
Year 5 Roman Day – Tuesday 21st November
This is a history themed day and we invite all the children to come to school dressed in Roman costumes. On Tuesday, lessons will have a Roman theme and they will also be having a special lunch inspired by some Roman recipes. Please be aware that afternoon activities will be on as normal, but the children can change into their PE kit if they’d rather not attend these sessions in costume. Please could we ask that no weapons are brought into school – plastic or otherwise!
Kent Eco Awards – Thursday 23rd November
We are delighted to announce that we have won another award for our efforts in building a sustainable school and our conservation work. Mrs Sabin-Dawson and some pupils from Year 5 and 6 will travel to Ashford to collect the award and we look forward to sharing the details of this in the coming weeks.
Senior School Show – 23rd and 24th November at 6pm
Our Year 7 and 8 pupils are currently working hard on rehearsing for their annual school production – ‘A Quest for King Arthur’, which is part of the National Theatre ‘Let’s Pretend’ project. There will be two shows, on the 23rd and 24th November at 6pm. We look forward to seeing you there.
Broadstairs Christmas Lights Switch On – Saturday 25th November
Our choir will be performing in Broadstairs town as part of the Christmas light switch on. We hope you can join us.
School Exams Week – starts Monday 27th November
Year 3 London Theatre Trip – Wednesday 29th November
Year 3 has been studying wild habitats in geography this term. As part of their learning programme, they are terribly excited to be taking a trip to London to watch The Lion King.
Saturday School for Years 5 and 6 – Saturday 2nd December
Please note that due to the Paris trip, Saturday school for Years 5 and 6 day pupils will not run on this day.
Senior Paris Trip – Saturday 2nd December to Tuesday 5th December
The seniors have a jam packed itinerary planned for their trip to Paris. They will take in the key tourist sites such as the Arc de Triomphe and to the Trocadero for a view of the Eiffel Tower by night. They will travel to the Christmas market at the Tuileries, visit the Louvre museum, Notre-Dame and they will be met by a guide who will give them a tour of the Quartier Latin. Of course, no trip to Paris would be complete without a stop at Disneyland and a night cruise on the Seine after dinner. It is set to be a trip of a lifetime.
Pre-Prep Nativity Performances – Wednesday 6th December and Thursday 7th December
Being one of most looked forward to events in the school calendar, we cannot wait to welcome our Nursery and Reception parents to WHD’s Nativity performance. More details to follow.
Year 1 -3 Christmas Celebration Performance – Thursday 7th December
We are very excited to welcome you to our festive programme of song, dance and poetry at our Christmas Service for Years 1 – 3 at 2.15pm. The children will take centre stage and will have their time to shine, filling our hearts with festive cheer.
Christmas Jumper Day – Friday 8th December
All children are invited to wear non-school uniform with a Christmas jumper.
Pre-Prep Christmas Lunch & Christmas Fair
We will provide a full Christmas banquet style lunch for our pre-prep children followed by a Christmas Fair and games in the afternoon.
Panto Trip Years 1 to 8 – Monday 11th December
We are looking forward to a trip to the Sarah Thorne Theatre where the children will enjoy the morning watching a pantomime. More details to follow on School Money.
Christmas Feast Y4 to 8 – Tuesday 12th December
Our infamous Christmas Feast will be held in the evening for Years 4 to 8 followed by parlour games in the Old Hall afterwards (5.15pm to 7pm).
Christmas Carol Service – Wednesday 13th December
Join us in the chapel at 11.30am for our traditional Christmas Service involving Years 4 – 8.
Term Ends – Wednesday 13th December at 12.30pm
Reminders
School Uniform Shop
We have a range of preloved uniform items available in our uniform shop. Please contact Liz Dilkes, Chair of the PFA, to arrange an appointment.
Safeguarding Reminder
Please ensure that you keep to the 5mph speed limit on-site. We have had reports of some speeding cars and have contacted those parents accordingly.
School Values Awards
Pre-Prep
Reception | Grace Wake for always showing such kindness and respect to all of her peers and adults that she meets. |
Year 1 | Harriett Piper for working incredibly hard in Maths and English recently. She is working more independently and tries her best without giving up.
Eva Roberts for always being kind and making fantastic progress with her reading. She reads every day and is making excellent progress. |
Year 2 | Joseph Wake- Joseph has impressed me with his resilience this week. Joseph has shown me that he can reflect on things that haven’t gone his way only to come back stronger! Well done Joseph!
Pixie Jarman- Pixie has returned to school with a fabulous attitude towards all areas of her learning. I can see she is making a real effort especially with presentation and reading!
Indigo Gaspa. Indigo has developed a good attitude to her learning, even when things initially appear challenging for her. She has realised that she has the ability to succeed if she remains focused and concentrates on the task in hand.
Max Harper. He is continuing to develop his ability to work independently and apply his skills and knowledge in his work. This is evident in lessons where he finds some things challenging but shows resilience, focus and determination to succeed. |
Year 3 | Frank Lillis for resilience in learning activities and putting his best effort in when completing tasks.
Claudia Flockhart for an amazing attitude to learning in maths seeking clarification if unsure and persevering in fine tuning her understanding of new concepts.
Lara Davies – for her impeccable manners and thought for others |
Seniors
Year 4 | Amber Hutchinson for her fantastic attitude towards learning. Always giving her best in every lesson. |
Year 5 | Rebecca Segawa – for showing great courage in her move to a new school and making a fabulous start to her time at Wellesley Haddon Dene. |
Year 6 | Suri Lear and Brooke Webb for outstanding efforts on the hockey field playing with the U13s vs Duke of Yorks – Courage and Resilience. |
Seniors | Lila Grady – Lila has been leading by example in all aspects of her school life. Her maturity has been excellent and she is a great role model to her peers to aspire to. |
Team of the Week
Year 8 for their contribution to Open Day.
School Calendar
Please click here and scroll through for the most up to date calendar of events for the term.
Matches This Week
2.00pm start unless otherwise stated
Monday, 6 November
Football v JKS: U11 A Boys (a) 3pm
Wednesday, 8 November
Cross Country v Spring Grove: U11 & U9 Mixed (a)
Football Metherall Cup: U11 A Boys (a)
Football v St Edmund’s: U13 A Boys (a)
Hockey v Northbourne Park: U13 A Girls (h)
Saturday, 11 November
Thanet Passport Netball A U11 (a) 9:30am
Hockey v Junior King’s: U13 A Girls (h)
Please always refer to the website calendar as it is the most up-to-date place to check for fixture changes and locations.
If your child has been selected for a fixture, we will communicate with you prior to the fixture with information regarding the recommended pick up time from Wellesley HD.
Matches Last Week
Hockey v Duke of York’s: U13A Girls | Won 5-0 |
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